Woman attacked by leopard in Pauri; villagers demand big cat to be declared maneater

Dehradun: A 42-year-old woman was injured after a leopard attacked her when she was returning home after collecting milk from a neighbour in Oni village of Pauri Garhwal district on Sunday evening.

Local health officials said Vinita Devi sustained injuries to her neck and face and was taken to Srinagar Base Hospital, where doctors said she was stable on Monday.The incident triggered a protest by residents of the village and nearby areas, who raised concerns about the rising number of big cat attacks in the area and demanded that the leopard involved be declared as a maneater and removed from the area.The protesters pointed to a recent fatal incident in nearby Kamand village, where a 62-year-old man was killed in a leopard attack on May 15.

“The feline continues to attack the villagers and their livestock. It should be declared maneater and eliminated,” said Dinesh Rawat, a resident of Oni village.Divisional forest officer (DFO) Mahatim Yadav, who was patrolling the area, assured the villagers that surveillance and response measures were already in place. “The affected area falls within close proximity to the earlier attack site in Kamand, so the existing operational permissions remain applicable and no fresh authorisation is required. Our field teams are monitoring leopard movement through camera traps, pugmark tracking and quick response units,” he said.The Pauri forest division has recorded two fatalities and one injury linked to leopard encounters in the last month alone, while three leopards have been rescued by the forest department over the past three months.